


Complementary

by ColleagueOne



Category: Mamamoo
Genre: F/F, Gen, Slow Burn, Solar will appear ch. 2 soz for the clickbait kids, The Cafe AU No One Wanted - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21682903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColleagueOne/pseuds/ColleagueOne
Summary: Perhaps placing herself in weird circumstances was a hidden talent of hers, Byulyi mused.
Relationships: Ahn Hyejin | Hwasa/Jung Wheein, Kim Yongsun | Solar/Moon Byulyi | Moonbyul
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	Complementary

Her legs were starting to hurt; lungs aching, her chest squeezing with every breath she took. The cold winter air was unforgiving, and maybe even more so to her, who very much deserved the punishment but even then, Moon Byulyi still ran and ran, even when it already felt as though her legs were about to fall of, settling instead with a grit of her teeth, sucking in the pain as she forced herself to take another step forward, further and further away from the distant sounds of the neighborhood patrols blowing their whistles. 

Her chest heaves and wheezes for the much needed air, nostrils already hurting too much from the harsh coldness that she opts to breathe through her mouth instead, and it’s only when she could no longer hear the sound of police whistles that Byulyi finally gave her legs the rest they so deserved, slowing down to a halt somewhere deep between the crevices of tall buildings. It takes her a while to catch her breath however, every loud pants only puffing out white wisps of fog into the cold frosty air.

“Someone looks like she just ran a marathon.”

In an instant, Byulyi all but freezes, head slowly and reluctantly turning to the sassy remark’s source and there stood just a few steps away from her was a woman in a dark brown apron; her dark short hair tied into a messy ponytail with more than half of the strands already having set themselves free, one eyebrow raised as if she was already patronizing Byulyi. She gave the cigarette between her fingers a few taps and let the ashes at the tip fall onto the wet ground.

“I-” Byulyi began, clearing her throat nervously but just as she was about to straighten her back and speak again, the woman before her quickly removed her apron, throwing it instead atop Byulyi’s head. “What the-?!”

“Keep quiet.” 

Byulyi furrowed her brows at the order, bringing her hands up, almost, to remove the cloth covering her face.

_“Excuse me, have you seen a woman run through here? Just about this height with a black hat on.”_

For the hundredth time, Byulyi felt her blood run cold as she quickly figures who the new voice may be, that - although she prays she’s wrong - standing behind her was one of the officers chasing after her not too long ago.

“No.” She hears the woman speak again. “None that I know of, officer.”

Neither of the two strangers could see it, but at that very moment, Moon Byulyi’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, eyes locked at where the stranger was standing (or at least she hoped was standing - all she could see at the moment was the darn dark brown apron draped over her head). Was this woman really helping her? _Lying_ to a police officer just for her? It shouldn’t take a genius to figure out what Byulyi was, what with the purse wrapped around her arms, pressing it close to her chest in fear that the officer behind her might see it. It was bright pink in colour and all too cutesy for Byulyi’s taste; a total contrast to her current plain gray sweater and tattered jeans.

Slightly lifting the apron so she could take a peek out, her eyes met the stranger’s, who then gave her a quick raise of a brow. What was that supposed to mean? Rather, was that supposed to mean anything? Christ, she doesn’t speak in eyebrows but this woman sure has a knack of using it as a mode of communication. 

“Unnie,” the woman called out to her, “are you done coughing your lungs out now? I told you smoking wasn’t for you.” With a crinkle of her nose, eyes once again showing Byulyi with that look of _pity_ , the raven-haired stranger opened the door behind her, tilting her head towards it in a gesture for Byulyi to enter. “Alright, break’s over. Sorry we couldn’t be of much help, officer.”

“Ah! No, no, that’s alright but if ever you find a suspicious individual matching the same description, please don’t ever hesitate to call us.”

The woman gave the officer a lazy smile, and while Byulyi barely saw it as she walked past her on the way in, she felt her chest squeeze once more, except this time, Byulyi thinks isn’t half as bad as before.

She had been sitting there for nearly an hour now, her thoughts running round and round hoping to figure how she got herself in her current situation - then again, Byulyi always did put herself in the most awful situations when she least expected it. The door turned out to be a backdoor to a coffee shop and although Byulyi would like nothing else but to leave now, she finds herself seated in one of the chairs inside instead, too anxious to decline the stranger’s offer, or perhaps too afraid that the police might be called should she say no.

So there she was, stirring her iced coffee while staring at the ice cubes inside the plastic cup as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. Before her sat the dark haired _beauty_ . That was what she wanted to be called, after all, when they gave each other a brief introduction. Introducing herself confidently as Hwasa. _Beautiful_. Moon Byulyi could almost laugh. It was clearly a false name but she doesn’t dare question it.

The cafe was completely empty except for the two of them, not that Byulyi expected for anyone else to be there. It was still much too early in the morning after all; five, maybe, or just a minute after six. The cafe looked like it still needed a bit of cleaning from yesterday’s shift and the cake display at the front hadn’t been filled up yet. Hwasa, who Byulyi now believes was an employee there, hadn’t even flipped the sign at the door yet to open.

Straw still held between her fingers, Byulyi began stabbing the ice cubes in her drink, letting the sound of ice gathering and pushing fill the silence before glancing up at the woman - _Hwasa_ \- sheepishly clearing her throat to speak.

“So, um… May I-”

“-Do you have no plans on returning that bag at all? I mean, after you’ve taken what you needed.”

That earns a quirk of her brow. “Pardon?”

“You only need the money, right?” Hwasa brought one hand up, threading her fingers through her short hair as she gestured to the blindingly pink purse with her other. “You should at least surrender it to the lost and found after. Who knows, the owner might have something important in it other than cash.”

If a typhoon was on its way to Korea, Moon Byulyi wished for it to hit landfall then and there. Preferably one strong enough that it would rip the roof of the building they were in open and sweep her off her seat. It wouldn’t have mattered if she were to die from it after, she would rather accept it than have to face the fact that she’d been caught. Somehow, knowing that the woman before her knew what she’d done only made her feel shameful. Only made her feel all the more guilty than she already does on a daily basis.

“What is it that you want from me exactly?” Byulyi asked instead.

“What do you mean?”

“First you help me from that police officer, then you offer me iced coffee and now…”

“Ah.” Byulyi watched cautiously as Hwasa smiled, relaxing further in her seat as she crosses her leg over the other. “Well, it’s just that you looked as though you needed some help. There’s really nothing more to it. Why? Do you want me to call the police instead?”

“No! I mean - please… Please don’t.”

Hwasa rolled her tongue against her cheek, fighting the urge to smile all the more as she crosses her arms as well now. “Good. Now, my turn.” 

_Turn? Since when did this become a game of questions?_ Byulyi immediately thought to herself

“-why?”

Blinking, Byulyi tilted her head to the side, her puzzlement evident in the way her eyebrows furrowed. “Why? Why what?”

Huffing out a sigh, Hwasa rolled her eyes. “Why steal? I get that it could be that you’re short on money, I understand that, but short on money for _what_? Drugs?”

“Drugs?!” Byulyi almost choked on her iced coffee, “no, no, no. I don’t do drugs!”

“Then why?”

“Wh- I mean…” This time it was Byulyi’s turn to sigh, though hers was with a mix of a half-amused laugh. She couldn’t even tell anymore if Hwasa was wonderfully observant for figuring out that she was a thief and that she was stealing for money with just a look or not, for immediately assuming that it was all for drugs. “I don’t think I’m obligated to tell you my life story though.”

“ _Okay._ ” Hwasa answered in _English_ , playfully shrugging at the rejection as she plucked her phone up from the wooden table between her and Byulyi, long fingernails already tapping against the screen. 

Byulyi’s heart could almost stop just at the sight of that. “W-What are you doing? Wait, you’re not calling the police are you?” 

“ _I don’t know_.”

 _Why are you speaking English?!_ Byulyi pinched the bridge of her nose, already feeling a headache coming. “Don’t. Please don’t. It’s not for drugs, I promise.”

“I’m just teasing, don’t worry.” Hwasa chuckled, her tone low and sultry that Byulyi could almost cringe and fall at the same time. Setting her phone back down on the table, Hwasa placed both of her elbows on the table, slightly leaning forward as she links her fingers together for her chin to rest on. “So, care to answer my question now?”

Laughing nervously, Byulyi brought her hand up to the back of her neck, rubbing it as she struggles to find the words to say.

And finally, _finally_ the gods above finally decided to answer all of Byulyi’s pleas for the last minute and a half - though it came in the form of a door opening with a loud bang as it hit the wall. And a loud yell. And the sound of plastic ruffling. A heave. And then another yell.

“HYEJIN HELP MEー!” 

_Hyejin_? Byulyi quirked a brow.

“HYEJIN!”

“Okay, okay, coming!” 

Eyes wide in amusement, she watched as Hwasa quickly stood up from her seat, mouthing Byulyi to sit still on her way to the back door to help whoever the dying hyena was. Byulyi, of course, had no other choice but to obey, neck stretching to the side in an attempt to see whatever was happening behind the _Employees Only_ door by the coffee shop’s counter. She could hear them talking, the _dying hyena_ now speaking softly to Hwasa - or Hyejin rather, Byulyi smiled to herself at the newfound knowledge - their words too quiet, sadly, for Byulyi to understand.

Byulyi spent the next few minutes in _awful_ silence, hands on her lap as she ran her palms against the fabric of her pants, wiping the hints of nervous sweat away while waiting. What were they talking about? She wondered. They were taking quite a while, and the longer Byulyi waited, the more she could feel her heart thump against her chest. 

True her conversation with Hyejin earlier seemed to have gotten better with the mood just a tad bit lighter than when they first began no thanks to all of Hyejin’s teasing, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t decided to sell Byulyi out to the police all of a sudden. Alas, before Byulyi could bury herself further with her own worries, Hyejin finally returned. With another woman in tow.

“Sorry about that.” Hyejin started as soon as she was seated, and without missing a beat, the other woman sat down on the free chair beside her. “Wheein, meet… Er…” She wiggled her finger about as she gestured to Byulyi.

“Byulyi. Moon Byulyi. Ah, but you can just call me Byulyi.”

“Right. Byulyi. Byulyi, meet Wheein. Manager of the coffee shop.”

-

Perhaps placing herself in weird circumstances was a hidden talent of hers, Byulyi mused. Hyejin did most of the talking ever since she and Wheein returned from the back room, leaving Byulyi without much choice but to just nod her head and listen.

They were willing to hear her out _once_ . Just once, or so Hyejin emphasized, giving her one last chance to explain herself - her _situation_ \- to them so they could understand why she was stealing… Ugly bright pink purses at five in the morning. _Just once_ meant a lie would result to police being called, and just once meant that Byulyi was left without a choice but to confess, no matter how pathetic she may seem to them in doing so.

And so she did just that. Reluctantly telling them everything, albeit with as little detail as she possibly could give while staying true all the same. Her home. Her family. Why she needed the money… Thankfully the didn’t pry much. And _thankfully_ , Wheein seemed to be a lot more considerate than Hyejin in terms of her comfort.

“Still, you can’t survive just stealing forever.” Hyejin sighed, leaning back against her seat with her arms crossed before her chest once again.

“I know that.” Byulyi grumbled.

“Then? Why not get a job?”

Biting her cheek, Byulyi suppressed the urge to groan and sigh. She had tried before. Oh, she had tried many times before to get a job, but how was she supposed to find one when she didn’t even have a highschool diploma to present to interviewers and store owners? How was she supposed to find one when almost all establishments required a highschool graduate, or a _man_ to work hard labour?

Her shoulders slumped, her eyes finding her hands instead as she toyed and fiddled with her thumbs.

“What if I let you work here?” As if, once again, sensing her discomfort, Wheein finally chirped in, her eyes round as though she herself was taken aback at her own words. Hyejin seemed to look the same - except her expression had a hint of disapproval that only made Byulyi wish the chair she sat would eat her up, never to spit her out again. 

She doesn’t know what came up to her then, but Byulyi laughed instead; her laughter airy and empty as she glanced up at Wheein only to look down at her hands once more. “I don’t think that’s possible.” She smiles, bitter, somewhat, as she furrowed her brows and glared at her hands harder, pinching at her thumb until it almost hurt. “You wouldn’t trust a thief like me-”

“-no, I would.”

Byulyi frowned.

“No you wouldn’t-”

“-she would.” Hyejin hurriedly jumped in before it could turn into an endless loop of _would_ and _wouldn’ts_ , a tired smile on her lips, now, as she scratched her cheek. “As long as you don’t give her a reason not to trust you, I know for sure that she would, don’t worry.”

Wheein grinned then, her dimple in full view for everyone to see. “So? What do you think? We’re quite short-staffed for winter anyway so it would be a win-win situation.”

Truth be told, half of her wanted to jump in and accept the offer immediately, however the other half of her still doubted. What if they were only tricking her? What if they would soon hand her to the police anyway? She can’t be caught. Not when there was still so much left for her to do. Not when her siblings - Seulgi and Yesol - still depended on her, and her alone.

“Do it for them.”

Byulyi turned her head up, confused at Hyejin’s words. Hyejin, in turn, gave her puzzled look a gentle smile. 

“Your family. If not for yourself, try to change for them.”

-

“What day is it today?” Wheein asked into the air as she fishes her phone out of her pocket, opening up the calendar app.

Byulyi felt quite out of place, standing on the other side of the coffee shop’s counter as they prepared for the morning shift, a broom in her hand, her purple-dyed hair tied into a ponytail and her worn sweater replaced instead with a white button up Wheein had kindly loaned her. 

“ _15th of December…_ ” Wheein mumbled as she typed on her phone, ignoring all the clatters and noises Hyejin was making behind her while cleaning the glasses, “ _Moon Byulyi hired._ There. We’re going to have to make you sign the contract later but for now, your first task!” Reaching her hand out, she grabs the broom out of Byulyi’s hold. “Not clean, no. For your first task, Moon Byulyi… Please… **_Please_ ** get rid of that pink purse. Or at least surrender it to the lost and found!”

**Author's Note:**

> Solar appears on Chapter 2 I promise. I hope you enjoy slow burns.


End file.
